My little time out from blogging was actually quite nice. I’ve been feeling out of balance, and that, with the state of limbo my family is in at the moment, was enough to drive me ever closer to an impending panic attack.

But…

I got through it.

Grumpily at first.

Then a little less grumpily.

And finally, I began finding peace again.

Here are some things that happened this week:

We had some really great news this week that may mean our move will happen soon!

Judah cut his first two teeth…and they’re on the top! The girls teethed earlier and both cut bottom teeth first. He’s still fussy but it’s more manageable. Biting while nursing is a new issue, one I’m not quite sure how to handle. I’ve been thinking of getting a nursing necklace, which is basically a large ring on a cord that the baby can pull on and play with while nursing.

I got to take Emma and Gracie on dates on Saturday while Manly was home. I took Gracie to Starbucks and on some little errands. Emma and I got Starbucks and then I took her to get her nails done. It was her first time. I told Gracie she has to stop biting her nails before I can take her to get hers done!

The girls hit a new level in their relationship: they have DECIDED to be kind and loving to one another, to share their toys and play nicely together. They told me this on their own. I was such a proud momma, I could have cried.

I’m slowly but surely going to make my way through our house and set aside things for a garage sale and start packing our non-essentials. This is an unbelievably overwhelming issue for me…but I think I can do it.

Wow, what a blogging break that was! Just a short update on the happenings here at home:

Emma had a birthday! She’s 8 years old now. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming! I must admit, though… we are now in foreign territory. I’m schooled in early childhood development, not middle elementary development!

Gracie will be 5 on Sunday… another reminder of how old I’m getting and how quickly time is flying by! She is such a funny, delightful girl. We haven’t hit any really rough spots with her yet, and for that I am truly thankful!

Judah made 7 months yesterday. He is growing so fast! His newest tricks are clapping, waving hi and bye, and… wait for it! He’s ALMOST CRAWLING. I’m happy and not-so-happy about this new development. I’m really truly hoping he’ll wait and crawl after we make our big move to Hilo. I’m planning on babyproofing as we move in. If he crawls here, heaven help me! I wouldn’t even know where to start.

We had a big family birthday party for the girls at Dave & Busters. They had such a great time! Plus, it was fun for the grown-ups too.

Moving–not so much to report in that area. It’s everyone’s favorite question: “When are you moving?” And I never know what to say other than, “We’re working on it!” It’s such an overwhelming thing. If we were just moving to another house here on Oahu it would be simple. But moving to another island is a whole other story. We are praying and trusting that the Lord will get us there soon! And I’m believing that there must be some important gem that I’m supposed to find in experiencing life as a single momma for four days a week (something other than being thankful for my good, godly husband! I get it Lord!).

Well, it’s been ages since I’ve updated this blog. I had such high aspirations of doing daily posts… but then reality kicked me in the fanny!

Aside from being at home alone with the kids each week while Manly works in Hilo, I had the additional fun of taking care of three sick kids for the past two weeks. Two weeks ago we all had the flu (not the swine kind) and it turned into three different secondary infections! Yuck. This Monday we were diagnosed as follows: Emma has bronchitis, Gracie has pneumonia and Judah has an ear infection. All three are now on antibiotics and feeling better! I, on the other hand, am still diligently fighting whatever bug is trying to take me down. I’ve had two really bad days… one during flu week and one this week. Other than that, though, God has been merciful!

Thankfully I’ve been able to hang out in bed and indulge my reading habit. I finished the last two books in the Twilight series. I know, I know… I’m much too old and quite embarrassed to admit that I actually like the series. It’s hopelessly melodramatic and sappy, but sometimes a girl needs a little of that!

And a truly wonderful friend was kind enough to bring us dinner and groceries yesterday. Vanessa, you’re a life saver! We loved the curry, by the way. So yummy and warming.

So… now that we’re all getting back to normal, I hope to rediscover daily posting and hopefully even get some pictures up here. We’ll see how it goes!

Guess what I found? Yes! My camera has magically reappeared, just in time for our super fun beach day. We had such a great day, I just have to share it with you! (Although I have a feeling that no one reads this besides me.)

We decided to try out a new beach, Ko`olina. We usually go to Ala Moana beach, but our last trip there was not wonderful… it was dirty, crowded and just plain gross. We’ve wanted to try Ko`olina for so long, but never got around to it. Now we’re just plain sad that we waited so long!

It took about 20 minutes to drive there, and we were able to valet at the `Ihilani instead of waiting for a beach pass. (Valet is always a girl’s best friend, right?) The beach itself was beautiful… clean, protected and not crowded at all! Perfect for the kids. Plus, there was beach-side pupus/drink service for the grown-ups! We rented two cabanas for the day, at $20.00 each, and let me tell you, it was totally worth it! We also rented a water hammock for two hours ($30.00, also totally worth it!) and the kids had a blast playing on it.

Judah and I mostly stayed in the cabana, but he did go in the ocean and played on the water hammock for a little bit. He liked it much better than the last time we took him in the water. Emma and Gracie found hermit crabs and pipipi on the rocks; daddy and Judah napped in the cabana; we ate musubi and chips. It was great!

On a sad note… the brand-new bottle of sunscreen that I used on the girls and Manly totally failed. It was a dud! They got fried. It was so disturbing to see my little girls so red and miserable. I was so angry at the sunscreen company. Luckily, Noxema and aloe works wonders and they’re all feeling better!

Guess what I found? Yes! My camera has magically reappeared, just in time for our super fun beach day. We had such a great day, I just have to share it with you! (Although I have a feeling that no one reads this besides me.)

We decided to try out a new beach, Ko`olina. We usually go to Ala Moana beach, but our last trip there was not wonderful… it was dirty, crowded and just plain gross. We’ve wanted to try Ko`olina for so long, but never got around to it. Now we’re just plain sad that we waited so long!

It took about 20 minutes to drive there, and we were able to valet at the `Ihilani instead of waiting for a beach pass. (Valet is always a girl’s best friend, right?) The beach itself was beautiful… clean, protected and not crowded at all! Perfect for the kids. Plus, there was beach-side pupus/drink service for the grown-ups! We rented two cabanas for the day, at $20.00 each, and let me tell you, it was totally worth it! We also rented a water hammock for two hours ($30.00, also totally worth it!) and the kids had a blast playing on it.

Judah and I mostly stayed in the cabana, but he did go in the ocean and played on the water hammock for a little bit. He liked it much better than the last time we took him in the water. Emma and Gracie found hermit crabs and pipipi on the rocks; daddy and Judah napped in the cabana; we ate musubi and chips. It was great!

On a sad note… the brand-new bottle of sunscreen that I used on the girls and Manly totally failed. It was a dud! They got fried. It was so disturbing to see my little girls so red and miserable. I was so angry at the sunscreen company. Luckily, Noxema and aloe works wonders and they’re all feeling better!

My camera has disappeared. It’s simply vanished. The last time I saw it, it was sitting on the kitchen table. One little birdie says she put it on my bed. Another little birdie says she “didn’t touch it! I very promise, mommy, I left it on the table.” I turned the house upside down looking for it, and just can’t find it. Today I’m going to take the couch apart to see if it’s somewhere in there.

This camera problem has disrupted my big plans of updating this blog every day. So let me quickly recap what’s happened over the past week:

Last Thursday: Manly came home. Yay!

Friday: Judah had his 4-month checkup and shots. 18 lbs. 10 oz. and 27 inches long puts him in the 95% on the growth chart. Two shots, one oral vaccination and thirty seconds of tears = healthy boy!

Saturday: Mom and I went out to find a place to host a friend’s bridal shower. Had a yummy lunch at MAC 24-7 and got a sweet dress at Nordstroms. It was nice to have a break from the kids! Then Manly and I went on a date to Shokudo’s and ate yummy Japanese food.